Whiskey In Jars
by Kristal-Dynamite
Summary: Eddie has been alone ever since ditching Wyatt. He misses his friend dearly but stumbles upon another man in a small shed. Already he can feel a connection, but should he follow or be alone once again?
1. Chapter 1

**Whiskey In Jars**

**Hi! You are now about to read a short fic to do with Eddie/Nick.**

**If you don't like it then don't read, simples!**

**Not much to say but hope you enjoy and please leave a review if you do! :)**

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><p>Eddie had been wandering the forests for far too long now...<p>

It has been around three weeks since Eddie had to give up his precious, old and tattered car. For he couldn't find any sign of fuel or tools to repair the damage he and Wyatt had put the car through.

Wyatt...

Eddie missed his good friend dearly. He lost him a while ago, on the fourth day of the outbreak to be exact. Eddie deeply regretted leaving Wyatt behind, but he had no choice... The crazy man in the truck had found him and was going to kill him. Escaping was the only option for Eddie.

Yes, he still called himself a coward but he truly cared for his friend. He'd known Wyatt since he was fourteen and couldn't help but to admit he felt a slight strange affection towards his bearded hipster friend, as he would call him. Not just a best friend sort of affection, but something more than that... Every since his Ex-girlfriend Abigail dumped him, Wyatt was always there even though Eddie could openly admit he never really felt as if he was 'in love' with the woman. He'd always make gay jokes a lot, but never did he think that he was falling for the man he had left behind...

However sadly, it had been approximately around sixteen months maybe even two years since the start of the outbreak and Eddie has found no sign of Wyatt, not even another friendly face, just bandits and cults which he surprisingly has managed to keep away from, despite how clumsy and stupid he was. Maybe being independent was good. It meant that you only had to think about yourself and what _you_ need, but even the most independent person feels lonely at one point, and Eddie felt that feeling every day. He wanted to see Wyatt, or if there was any hope, another one of his friends from the past... but from what he knew, they were all dead. Wyatt too...

For three empty weeks, without his car, Eddie has been wandering the wilds with no intention of where to go next. He had a pistol with two bullets and a pocket knife. Water would be drunk at streams or rivers and food would have to be berries or anything in abandoned sheds or cabins. Eddie was too far out into the forest to be even close to a town or village. He was truly lost, and truthfully close to death. This was no way to survive.

But it was the sight of a small shed that once again, caught Eddie's eye. It had been a week since he last saw any sign of a building. The shed may have nothing but it was getting dark fast as time progressed and Eddie needed some sort of refuge to protect himself from walkers for the night.

Without second thought, Eddie strolled over casually to the small and what looked to be abandoned shed. There was one walker roaming around the wooden doors but Eddie swiftly took care of it, using his pocket knife to take a quick stab through the back of the head. He mentally praised himself as the walker fell to the solid ground. It had only been around three weeks ago that Eddie started to take care of walkers up close. The whole time he had his car he would always try and avoid walkers as much as possible. Killing them almost felt like an accomplishment.

Once the coast was fully clear and all around him echoed silence, Eddie took hold of the rusty metal handles of the shed and pulled, only to realise that these were the type of doors that had to be pushed...

_Way to go Eddie!_ Wyatt sarcastically remarked in the back of Eddie's mind.

_Thanks asshole. _Eddie replied with a small grin.

Attempting to open the doors again, Eddie pushed, however to no avail.

_That's strange... _Eddie thought. He applied more force on the two doors but came to notice that something what blocking them from the inside.

Again, Eddie pushed harder on the wooden doors, now desperate to have a look at what could be inside before a mumbling groan reached his ears, startling the man for a second.

At first, Eddie assumed it was a walker and found himself backing away from the doors ever so slowly. It made sense however, a person trapping themselves inside this shed to then die from starvation and come back as the dead... But Eddie didn't want to just leave, he had to see whether it was in fact a walker inside.

"Hello?" Eddie called out into the shed, pressing his face up against the wooden doors.

There was no reply but another groan/sigh. Eddie was sure it was a man inside and not a walker.

"Hello?" Eddie repeated.

Again, no reply other than the sound of something shifting around, followed by the sound of something being dragged away, like a box or a crate that secured the doors shut.

Before the doors swung open, the voice from inside questioned. Eddie didn't really know if what he was doing was the smartest thing but he needed help. Maybe answers from the man if he knew anyway of getting out the damn forest.

"Is that you? Luke?" the man questioned. His voice slurred and his accent sounded slightly southern. Definitely not Wyatt...

"Na, I'm Eddie... can you help me?" Eddie honestly answered.

"Eddie? The fuck d'you want?" The shed's doors suddenly swung open and Eddie got to see the man up close and personal.

"No trouble, just a little help..." Eddie quickly replied. He eyed the man who stood leaning against one of the wooden doors. He looked exhausted and skinny. He had raven black hair and mesmerising blue eyes. On top his head he wore a red cap with some sort of halo symbol from what Eddie could guess. He was then completed with a navy blue 'Chasers' shirt and camouflaged trousers.

"Go away." the man said right after, also attempting to re-close the doors. He almost sounded drunk like he wouldn't remember this conversation by the morning...

"Wait, please... do you have any supplies? Please I need help..." Eddie pleaded, trying to get a look at what could be inside. He could smell the other man's breath and by now knew that he had been drinking.

A drink... Eddie could really use one of those.

"What makes you think I have supplies? I don't fucking live here!" the man snapped, eyeing Eddie closely.

"I can smell Whiskey off of you..." Eddie says almost hopefully. He tries to shun a smirk but cannot really find himself doing so.

"What? You wanna get me drunk so you can just kill me afterwards?!" the man questions, his voice becoming louder and echoing the forest. Walker groans could be heard near by, allowing Eddie to feel a rush of nerves smack him across the face.

"Man, keep your voice down! Walkers are out there!" Eddie snaps quietly, looking around behind him before looking back to the black haired man.

"Who the fuck cares anyway?" the man says, clearly not fazed.

"Hey, you alright? Lost your group or something?" Eddie decided to try and get to know the man a little better before begging for some alcohol.

"Kinda, uncle's dead and little girl left to get back to the cabin..." the man explains, mentally slapping himself for revealing so much.

"A cabin, huh?" Eddie remarks.

"Don't get any bright ideas." the man says before letting out a small grin for God know's why. It was most probably the alcohol.

"I'm not... so, what's your name?" Eddie casually decides to ask. He'd hate to say it but although this man was drunk and came off as quite rude, Eddie took a quick liking to him. He didn't really know why himself, but he reminded him of Wyatt slightly, as in attitude when he's mad.

"huh?" the man asked, pulling open one of the doors slightly more.

"I said, what's your name?" Eddie questioned again.

"Why you wanna know?" the man snapped.

"I told you mine!" Eddie retorted.

"It's Nick." the man replied before turning around and dragging his feet further inside the shed, leaving Eddie standing by the door.

"Cool, so do ya mind if I stay here for the night? Or at least have some alcohol? I don't know!" Eddie rambled as he took a few steps into the small shed. It smelt of Whiskey and piss in which Eddie scrunched his face up. It wasn't like he didn't do the same however...

"Fuck, Pete's dead..." Nick suddenly says, now sitting on the ground, leaning against one of the walls.

"Uh, what?" Eddie asked, clearly confused.

"Pete's dead..." Nick repeats sadly.

"Um, who's Pete?" Eddie questioned, now closing the two doors slowly behind him, making the brave decision to try and talk to Nick and see if he could maybe help him later on.

"My uncle." Nick replied. He couldn't really believe he was talking with a stranger as if he was a friend. He wondered what would happen if Luke was to walk in, or Clementine and the other cabin group members. But even though Nick knew what was going on around him, the alcohol was starting to get to his mind slightly.

"Oh, I'm sorry... why are you here?" Eddie asked curiously, eyeing the shed. There was practically nothing from what he could see, just a wooden chair, some shelves and many jars of what seemed to be whiskey and moon shine. The alcohol was defiantly tempting but Eddie had to restrain for now...

"We got split at the river... I don't want them to find me, I just want to die here." Nick explains while looking down at the ground below him.

"Hey man, don't say that..." Eddie adds, now feeling slight sympathy for the other man, for he felt the same way several times in the past.

"Nah, what's there to live for anyway? We're all gonna die, there's nothing left but shit." Nick continues.

"Actually it's piss..." Eddie remarks looking around the shed with his eyes.

"Haha, funny..." Nick replies, a small grin making it's way onto his face.

"Sit. Drink with me..." Nick adds all of a sudden. He reaches over to one of the shelves, grabbing a brown jar full to the brim with alcohol. He then extends his arm out, waving the jar in front of Eddie who stared longingly at it.

"I... um, thanks man but are you sure?" Eddie asks. He was tempted to have a drink, but what if it was a set up so that Nick could maybe murder him afterwards? It could happen... but Nick didn't look armed. Armed with glass jars but nothing else.

Nick sighs heavily before speaking.

"Yeah, I'm gonna die here anyway... I can share." Nick explains.

"Well, we could get you back to your group, I'll be gone after that, just need a drink and a safer place for the night." Eddie replies while also taking hold of the jar and opening it up almost immediately. He sits down beside Nick, creating a small distance between them both just in case.

"Kay." Nick answers as if he didn't properly hear what Eddie had just said. He then goes on to open another jar of alcohol before taking a large gulp as he had been doing before Eddie showed up.

Speaking of Eddie, Nick turned his head slightly to gaze at the other man. He drank happily while darting his eyes around the compact shed. Eddie didn't look to be much older than him, mid to late twenties at least. He wore a lot of dark colours, his mucky white shirt underneath an unbuttoned grey top now blending in with the rest of his attire. He wore a grey and black striped beanie and had brown eyes similar to Luke's. He also had a short beard and a few piercings here and there... not too bad looking.

"You alone?" Nick questions after moments of just looking at the man without saying anything.

Eddie snaps back into reality and turns his head so that he is looking directly towards Nick. He tries to think of an answer before realising that he's ignoring the obvious. Of course he was alone...

"Yeah, um... have been for a long time now." Eddie replies after seconds worth of thinking.

Nick nods, taking in the new information.

"I feel wasted..." he continues, now going back to staring at the opposite wall. He then goes to pick up an empty jar off from the floor and holds it up, ready to throw.

When Eddie realised what Nick was about to do, he was quick to stop him.

"Whoa dude! Put that down! Walkers will hear that!" Eddie snapped, leaping over and grabbing Nick's arm.

Nick looked at Eddie's face that was only a few inches away from his. Eddie was practically lying but hovering across him, arm outstretched and clutching Nick's wrist. Eddie also couldn't believe what he was doing, so with that, he let go and went back to his original seating position, feeling slightly embarrassed over the situation... nevertheless, Nick had put the jar down.

"Sorry man, you scared me for a moment." Eddie said after a few moments of awkward silence.

Nick turned his head towards Eddie but immediately went back to looking at the ground.

"I'm gonna sleep." he said.

Eddie raised an eyebrow but nodded.

Already, this had been a strange night...

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><p><strong>To be continued...?<strong>

**If so, what could I do? Any ideas? Please tell me :)**

**Thanks for reading!**

**If I can remember correctly, Wyatt & Eddie's story in 400 days took place on the 41st day I think... I have no clue what made me write the 4th, just kinda did! Oh well, lets just go with it xD**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hiya, here's chapter 2 for anyone who wanted to read on ;) I'm still thinking of ways to continue this and I will take your ideas into consideration! Please leave a review as that will help me out a lot! **

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><p>Eddie couldn't sleep. He couldn't even close his eyes... He spent the entire night just sitting across from the man he just met a few hours ago, knees to his chest and rocking backwards and forwards, similar to a scared child. He was surrounded by an eerie darkness, walker groans echoing inside his mind, reminding him that the dead were still out there, whether he liked it or not.<p>

Surprisingly, only two jars of Whiskey was drunk by Eddie. He found it difficult to restrain himself from the temptation of the alcohol, but he did it. He was now sitting up, alive and himself and most defiantly not drunk or intoxicated. Luckily Nick had stopped drinking and went to sleep as Eddie didn't really feel in the mood to re-tell the drunk man what exactly happened tonight and why he was here in the first place. Nick seemed like the kinda guy who easily got defensive or snappy, or maybe that was just him when he was drunk? Eddie didn't know...

Usually he was the bad one in town. The terrible role model for children, an embarrassment for Wyatt. Drinking and taking drugs, yeah... he was that kind of guy. But now was the apocalypse as some called it, the plaque? Whatever it was, dead was up and walking and nowadays, nobody would give two shits about your past or all the bad you once did. All that matters is what you do today. Whether you kill the living, that's your problem unless the victim has relatives and loved ones still alive who would only hunt you down for revenge...

Shaking these unnecessary thoughts out of his head, Eddie darted his eyes back over to where Nick lie. On top the bitter ground, shivering and occasionally making slight groaning or whimpering sounds in his sleep like he was having a nightmare... A nightmare? A drunken man like Nick couldn't possibly have nightmares at night. The one's where you would wake up to then run to your mom for comfort. No. Eddie wasn't like that. He knew nothing much of Nick's past life, no need to insult just yet.

The night dragged on. It was dark and the only source of light was from the moon, shining though the dusty cracked window on the wall that Eddie leaned against. Eddie was thirsty, real thirsty for some whiskey, but he knew he couldn't. Nick wouldn't mind him having a drink, for the man seemed to _want_ to get Eddie drunk, but he knew better not to have one now... he was supposed to be sleeping for God's sake!

It was only at around the moment that Eddie's mind went blank that he realised his bladder was aching. Shit... He needed to piss.

Eddie sighed before looking around at the shed. He stood up, stretching his limbs and got ready to relieve himself in the corner. He knew Nick had pissed in here as well, but something made Eddie feel uncomfortable doing his business right here. What if Nick awoke? Not that it mattered, but still... Maybe he needed some well deserved privacy.

Checking to make sure Nick was still asleep, in which he was, Eddie made his way over to the two wooden doors. He quietly moved the crate out of the doors way before taking a quick peek out into the darkness. It was pitch black so Eddie had to rely on his ears to pick up on any peculiar noises besides the gentle wind and Nick's strange whimpering sounds. So far, nothing. Now was his chance, and he took it.

Quickly adjusting his beanie on his head, Eddie swiftly pulled himself out of the shed, keeping one of the doors slightly open just incase he had to run back inside for any reason. Once outside in the early winters cold, Eddie was quick to make sure he did his business and go straight back inside. The dark left an uneasy feeling in his gut and he didn't know why, for the dark wasn't his main fear...

The man fumbled around in shadowy night, trying to get a grip on his flyers. He mentally cursed as he tried his best at unzipping and unbuttoning his trousers however to no avail. Eventually, after moments of mad panic, Eddie's lower regions were free and he enjoyed the relieving session before darting back into the shed out of fear for what could've been lurking around. He didn't even have time to do up his zip...

Seconds later, Eddie was now back safely inside the shed. He shut the doors, securing them closed with the wooden crate, but it was the other man that caught him off guard.

Eddie turned around, hands back on his zip, about to re-close his trousers. However it just had to be at that time a certain black haired man was sitting up, back against the wall and legs in front of him just like earlier on. He looked up and gave a weak smile before looking down to see Eddie with his hands 'down there' fumbling around with his flyers.

Nick raised an eyebrow in which Eddie immediately went into defensive mode.

"Nah man, I took a piss if you're wondering..." Eddie quickly stated, now finished with finally buckling himself up. He sat back down on the ground, crossing his legs like you would do at school.

Nick let out a half hearted chuckle, in which Eddie figured the man was still quite intoxicated, however he hasn't seemed to lost all memory of tonight so far... that was a good sign at least.

"You had a wank didn't ya?" Nick chuckled, now going to pick up a half filled jar of whiskey. Luckily the black haired man had the right mind set to place the drink back on the ground straight after, refusing to take another tempting sip.

"Wank? A wha- what?! No!" Eddie eyes widened and his voice stammered.

"Why did you do it outside when you could've easily done it in 'ere?" Nick asks, still not convinced.

"I- I didn't have a wank! I took a piss, and unlike you, I didn't do it in here!" Eddie retorted, however he found himself smirking slightly. Unfortunately for him, Nick seemed to pick up on that.

"Sure..." Nick replied sarcastically, now shuffling closer to where Eddie sat, making the other man feel tense for a second.

"What you doing up anyways?" Eddie now questioned, trying to change the subject a little bit, even know he couldn't help but to remember he liked talking about dicks and general dirty stuff, especially with Wyatt.

"Couldn't sleep, it was about Pete and my mom..." Nick replies sadly, going back to looking at the ground. The pair were only few inches apart, making Eddie feel uneasy in some ways, but he knew Nick was drunk and sad right now... the least he could do was try and help.

"That's rough man..." Eddie says. He was never good when it came to comforting, so for now he didn't ask any more questions, just answered or bought up a topic that may not push Nick back into an almost 'depressed' zone.

"I don't know if they'll ever find me... I'm far away from them, Luke..." Nick explained, his voice slow and quiet almost as if he was talking to himself, having no idea that Eddie was for once in his life, intently listening.

"This Luke guy, your brother or something?" Eddie thought he would randomly question. He didn't really know whether Nick's group would find him, he didn't want to continue lying and saying that everything is going to be okay, because truthfully... it wasn't.

"Friend. Known him for twenty years." Nick replied, still gazing at the ground while Eddie continued to stare at him curiously.

"Right..." Eddie simply replied, not knowing where to take the conversation.

"I- I wanted more from him. I was selfish, sad and stupid and I told him I loved him before this shit even happened." Nick continued to explain, in which Eddie started to gather an interest and let the black haired man continue.

"I stupidly kissed him one day and he sorta freaked out a little bit. He avoided me for a while but when I started becoming more depressed because of that, he came back. He told me a few weeks ago that he thinks he actually 'loves' me, but I don't believe it. It's because my mom died, and now my uncle, that he wants to comfort me like a lost and helpless child... well I'm not like that! I want him to be truthful!" Nick now said, raising his voice slightly as he thought back on the past.

"So you love him?" Eddie questioned quietly, using his voice to indicate to the other man to keep his voice down.

"Yeah, I mean... I don't know." Nick replied uneasily.

"Well, I can tell you the truth... um, I sorta like-like my best friend but it's been nearly two years since I've seen him. He's gotta be dead now..." Eddie started to explain, using this chance as a perfect opportunity to open up a bit more about himself to Nick, who also lifted his head and seemed to take a slight interest.

"We've known each other since teenagers and we did some bad stuff. I was the one who got him to smoke weed for the first time. I was the worse... but it's only now that I realise that I might just, well like-like him." Eddie finishes. His cheeks starting to burn up slightly as he cannot understand why he just told that story to a man who he'd just met today. But Eddie couldn't help but to admit, he was quite nice for a drunk fella, funny and also quite good looking.

"We're not _too_ different then..." Nick simply replies.

"I guess not." Eddie smiles as Nick looks towards him, his eyes shimmering blue as if he was close to crying when he re-told some of his past. Nick smiled in return before shuffling slightly closer to the other man.

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but it's quite nice havin' some company." Nick mentions.

"Yeah, it is..." Eddie replies, also realising that he did in fact, enjoy talking to someone for once. It had been way too long since he last came across a decent person to talk to.

Secretly, Eddie wanted to go back to talking about something to laugh about. Sad talk was never Eddie's sort of thing. He liked to have a laugh, and although Nick thinking that he was presumably 'wanking'/ pleasuring himself outside, Eddie still enjoyed seeing that sly grin and the curious eyebrow being raised from Nick. Nick reminded Eddie of Wyatt a bit...

He couldn't have growing feelings for him too?


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again! Thank you for the reviews for the last 2 chapters! You guys make me smile :)**

**Here's chapter 3, sorry it's short but if I can update this 'regularly' I can't really make each chapter too long as it will take a lot of my time! I hope you still enjoy this anyway XD**

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><p>"Is it morning?" Nick asked for the one hundredth time tonight, his voice tired and bored as he sat lazily besides Eddie, who was now taking small slurps from his brown jar. He couldn't resist the smell of whiskey, the temptation being too much for him to handle. Eddie knew that Wyatt would be rolling his eyes but he couldn't care less, for the thirst left his tongue and throat burning for some source of liquid.<p>

"It's not morning, probably like twelve..." Eddie replied soon after, taking another sip of whiskey greedily as he kept telling himself after each sip that he would stop. Of course he didn't...

"Twelve _is_ morning, asshole." Nick says back, turning his head to see Eddie stop mid sip, cocking his head around also. He had a look of confusion on his face until he realised that Nick was in fact right...

"Well aren't you precise?" Eddie mocked, now putting his urges on hold and screwing the lid of the jar back on so that he will have no access to the whiskey just yet. He couldn't afford to get drunk in a situation like this, however he could feel his mind getting slightly fuzzy as time progressed.

"Precise is my middle name." Nick states, grinning wildly and staring freely at Eddie. It was at this point that Eddie knew Nick's drunk-ness didn't wear off, it was still lingering within him.

"More like 'drunk' is your middle name." Eddie replies, smirking as Nick pretended to look offended.

"And yours can be... asshole." Nick says afterwards, lifting his arm up and nudging Eddie in the side playfully.

"C'mon man, you barely know me!" Eddie whined, however he chuckled afterwards, also finding himself feeling lost in Nick's ocean blue eyes. Even his cap casted a shadow over his face yet Nick's eyes still shone like diamonds.

"I think everyone can be asshole's..." Nick chuckled.

"So I'm like everyone else then?" Eddie questioned, a playful smirk still plastered on his face.

"No, no! Your different..."

"Better than Luke..." Nick answered, quieting his voice as he mentioned Luke's name.

Eddie didn't know what exactly he should feel at the moment. He was shocked nonetheless.

"Uh, um Nick... haven't you known Luke for twenty years and me for a few hours?" Eddie awkwardly questioned.

"Yeah... but Luke, he's fake. I loved him and I know it would hurt for him to reject me, but he pretended to be in _love_ with me just so I could get up and move and not sulk in the corner..." Nick explains. He half sounded angry but at the same time hurt. Eddie could see the other mans eyes starting to water slightly.

"I guess that didn't really work out then..." Eddie stupidly says, however luckily, Nick doesn't take it in a bad way.

"He told me only a few weeks ago, out of nowhere. A few weeks after my mom died... it was foolish, it was stupid. It would never work out." Nick continues, his once smirking face now sunken.

"Hey man, I'm sorry bout that... but I'm sure this Luke guy still cares about you. He's probably wondering where you are right now." Eddie explains, shuffling closer to Nick and placing a hand on his shoulder. He could feel Nick tense up underneath his palm but he soon relaxed afterwards.

"Thanks man..." Nick replies, showing a small smile of gratitude. He shuffled even closer to Eddie, so much that they were now touching. Eddie was silent and from what Nick could see, now stiff the moment Nick got close to him. But Eddie didn't complain. He simply relaxed beside the other man and closed his eyes the moment Nick went quiet.

Was this right though?

Eddie didn't know Luke, but what if he just ruined what could've easily still been a friendship?

Hopefully tonight will be okay, yes Eddie had another man sleeping on him but who was Eddie to care?

There wasn't many things he took seriously anymore, and the company of another man somehow felt relaxing...

Nick felt like Wyatt in some ways. Physically he was skinner and had less hair but Eddie wondered if he himself looked any different from Luke. Did he remind Nick of him?

He'll just have to wait until morning to find out this information, for more was to come.

But was it risky? It was.

Although Eddie had a good feeling about everything turning out alright, his gut didn't agree. Maybe he was meant to be alone like his has for nearly two years now. Maybe he was being too kind to a man he just met because he craved company...

Maybe Eddie should... just leave?


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello again! Here is chapter 4, again sorry if it's short and quite late. I will not be updating daily but I will try and update frequently. Of course, Christmas is coming and after that, many exams to prepare me for the year after... I will be quite busy! :( But for now, don't expect ****_long_**** waits for the next chapter! Anyway, I hope you enjoy and please leave a review because they make me smile and I love responding to your feedback ;)**

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><p>Who was to say it was late in the morning? 10am? 11am? Couldn't be, Eddie knew it. The bright sun rays lit up the old, damp shed, making misery's look like a land of hope and plenty. The rancid smell of alcohol and piss now wearing away as the hot sun warmed up the claustrophobic atmosphere. This was it. It was time to leave and to never come across this surprisingly sustainable refuge again. (Unless it was for whiskey...) But no. Eddie promised himself to have no more whiskey or moonshine from this shed again. He won't even take any with him when he leaves, no matter how hard the temptations pushed him, he refused.<p>

Reluctantly, Eddie pried his sleepy eyelids apart, letting his brown orbs adjust to his surroundings, his surprisingly calm surroundings. His skin felt warm and it wasn't because the sun had found its way into the dreary shed, but because a particular someone was practically hugging him. How long? He didn't even know. But he felt stuck, bound to his current position. Ass sitting painfully on the solid ground, legs perfectly spread out in front of him, but arms entangled with the other mans. Already, they felt stiff. His muscles ached for freedom throughout the night, but Eddie's mind took over his body, lulling the man into a deep slumber. So deep, Eddie reconsidered his question... Who was to say it was late in the morning? Well, the other side of his mind. It _was_ most likely 10am.

"Nick..." Eddie croaked, his voice slightly raspy due to the alcohol consumption from last night. He couldn't even believe how he remembered the mans name. Yet remember who he was. It had been so long since some good whiskey, that maybe it didn't have an effect on him anymore... his mental state, that was.

The other man let out a groan, just like he did when Eddie first came across the shed. A tired, not bothered to do anything but lazily complain kind of groan.

"Nick..." Eddie sighed. Slumping back further into the wall supporting him and letting his 'can't be bothered to do shit' state take over him. He considered leaving over and over again, but even though Eddie didn't know what Nick may act like today, he wanted to stay. See what could happen if Nick's group never turns up. Plus, Nick's arms forced him to stay, whether Nick's mind agreed with it or not. This was just a constant battle between mind and body. (Not in a dirty way, but Eddie still snickered to himself) He truly was, still a child at heart, teenager in the mind and adult in the body.

Anyway, getting back to the weird sort of hugging during the night thing, Eddie looked down at Nick. Yes, he looked down. The mans face was pressed against Eddie's torso, his cap on the brim of falling off his head. His slender arms were of course, wrapped around Eddie... fully. He lightly snored but Eddie knew Nick wasn't in a deep slumber, but the drooling wasn't cool.

"Dude, your messing up my shirt!" Eddie whines with a light humour, trying anything to bring the other man to his senses. Luckily Nick spoke, voice also raspy but mind still seeming to remember about the other man, Eddie.

"It was already messed up." Nick slurred on his last words slightly.

"Just like yourself." Eddie whispered mockingly as he stayed seated in his position, and let the other man keep himself pressed up against him. After all, Eddie didn't necessarily mind...

There was silence for a few seconds before Nick replied.

"I heard that." he said, not much emotion in his voice however Eddie knew Nick didn't take it to heart.

"Well maybe you were meant to, asshole." Eddie lightly chuckled, now finding himself playing with a strand of greasy black hair on the back of Nick's head.

Nick let out a halfhearted chuckle before loosening his firm grip on the other man.

"That feels nice..." Nick sighed contently into Eddie's drool covered shirt.

It took a second for Eddie to realise what Nick was going on about. He didn't even notice himself playing around with the other mans hair...

"Well, you gave me nothing else to do as your stuck to me." Eddie replied, making what he was doing sound as if it was intentional.

Nick smiled into Eddie's shirt before quickly realising himself what _he_ was doing.

"Shit, I'm sorry!" Nick says quickly, ripping himself away from the other man so that he was now kneeling in front of a relaxed seated Eddie. Nick adjusts his cap so that it sat neatly on his head and waited for Eddie's reaction.

He looked just as shocked as he did, to be quite frank.

"Na don't be... Um, you remember who I am, right?" Eddie asks, sitting up also. His muscles woke up in realisation causing Eddie to winch slightly.

"Yeah, yeah man. You're Eddie." Nick replies, relaxing. He couldn't believe he could remember this much information already, despite how many jars he had drunk from last night.

"Wow, not bad for a drunk man... you're not even sober!" Eddie remarks, clapping his hands a few times with an impressed smirk on his face.

Nick smiles lightly before going to sit back down beside Eddie.

"I'm surprised myself to be honest." Nick says, brushing off his trousers and happily relaxing back against the wall. He didn't feel wasted, or hungover... this was quite indeed, impressive. Luke would be proud, but Nick shook that thought away from his head.

"So, you still wanna look for your group? I can help..." Eddie mentions, bringing himself back to the reason why he stayed and didn't leave.

Nick sighed, reluctantly going back to thinking seriously.

"They need you." Eddie adds.

Nick shakes his head and clenches his fists slightly.

"They don't." Nick quickly replies.

"C'mon man, you have people to go back to. I don't, I can just go wherever I want." Eddie explains, looking towards the black haired man, slight worry becoming clear on his face.

"Well I wish I could be like you then..."

"Actually, maybe I could be like you, none of them will give a damn anyway. I'm not like Luke. If I were like him, I'd have something to go back for..." Nick explains back, his voice quiet as he tries he hardest to conceal a mix of sadness and anger.

"Na, they care about you, I bet. You do have something to go back for... _them_." Eddie calmly says, trying to imagine what kind of group Nick was from. One in a cabin, he found out.

"It's not like they will be excited to see me, just a lecture on how I fucked up back at the river." Nick adds.

"Man, don't be like that... I'm sure they care, they've lost one already, I'm sure they don't want to loose you too." Eddie replies. He feels bad for bringing up Nick's uncle, but know's this will be the only way to convince him.

Nick sighs again before finally agreeing.

"I feel as if your the kind of man I like talking to..." Nick states, turning his head to look at Eddie who was already watching him.

Eddie smiles in appreciation, finally feeling wanted after such a long time of being alone.

"If we find them, I want you to come with me..." Nick finishes.

Eddie's eyes widen. He's lost for words really. Should he say yes? Well maybe. But what if Nick's group don't approve?

"Man, I can't really-" Eddies response is cut short by voices outside the shed. Nick turns his head towards the door also, startled by the sudden disturbance.

_I should've left, I should've left... _Eddie thought to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hiya, it's christmas Eve! Happy holidays ;D**

**Firstly, there will be no updates on any of my stories until at least Saturday.. When I get home I will try and update Black Hair & Blue Eyes for anyone who still continues to read :)**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter and please leave a review, I love you all! :3**

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><p>Eddie fumbled around desperately, pulling out his pretty much useless pistol and reluctantly holding it pointed towards the shed's door. He didn't want to, but he was taking precautions.<p>

"Woah man, what the fuck?" Nick now stood up, swaying slightly but soon after, regaining his balance.

Eddie followed suit, standing up and hesitantly lowering his gun.

"Is this your group?" he questioned, looking towards Nick and somehow hoping it was. He couldn't be bothered to deal with complete strangers right now. A constant mood changing Nick was enough for Eddie...

"I dunno..." Nick replied calmly, now walking slowly towards the sheds doors.

"Well, don't just open it dude!" Eddie snapped, suddenly anxious as Nick didn't seem to have the slight hope in a thought that the sounds could be coming from _his_ group.

"Whatever." Nick simply said, reaching forward to grab the handles of the wooden doors.

"I thought you were the hostile one..." Eddie mentioned, now having the trust in Nick to tuck his gun back away into his trousers.

"Frankly, I don't give two shits anymore." Nick replied causing the corners of Eddie's mouth the curve upwards into a smirk.

_"Guys, hold on... hey Clementine, come 'ere."_

"Well shit." Nick says immediately after he recognised the familiar voice and name.

"It's them, isn't it?" Eddie spoke quietly towards Nick, however the black haired man ignored and went to reluctantly opening the shed's doors, adding tension for the people outside by opening the doors as slow as he possibly could.

"I... I should go." Eddie blurts outs, now feeling the wave of nerves hit him as Nick slowly started pulling back the door.

Nick turns round for a second, a sadness lingered within each of his features... his blue eyes especially.

"No, stay..." Nick replies almost desperately.

Eddie nodded uncertainly, however forced himself not to make a runner. Who knows? These people could be good...

"Hey, Nick? Is that you?" the familiar voice of Luke spoke through the wooden doors.

Nick finally gave the doors a large push, revealing his slender, unkempt figure to the rest of the cabin group. And yes, they were all there... Luke, Carlos, Sarah, Alvin, Rebecca and the new addition, Clementine. Of course, no Pete.

"Nick, jesus!"

"God, are you okay?"

"Nick, h-how did you make it?"

"I'm sorry about Pete..."

"Urgh" Nick groaned. All these voices, all these voices from people he generally cared about, just nothing...

"Hey man, you okay? I was worried." Luke says, coming forward and placing a hand on Nick's shoulder, however Nick shrugs it off and attempts to turn back around towards the shed where Eddie still stood anxiously inside.

"Just... I'm _fine_ Luke." Nick replies, overemphasising the word 'fine'. He didn't mean to sound so harsh but he couldn't help it. He loved Luke really, but all he wanted now was to sit in a rancid smelling shed, drink and talk with his new friend. Yes, _friend_. Nick was never the one to easily make 'friends' but after Pete died, he couldn't give two shits about anything that happened around him. He didn't even find the heart to care for himself.

"W-what happened back there?" Luke changed the subject slightly. Clementine stood next to Luke silently, looking between the two. She didn't know much about the pair but she defiantly suspected something. Carlos, Sarah, Alvin and Rebecca also waited behind, a little impatient (especially Carlos and Rebecca) but more interested to see how Nick was holding up.

"Pete died." Nick said simply. He didn't even show any expression. He felt as if he was on the urge of crying but still kept himself together, glaring at Luke instead. Again, he didn't necessarily mean it, but he just felt somewhat angry. But was it even Luke's fault?

"I know man, I do... I'm sorry but we gotta get going. Carvers gang showed up and we need to get a move on." Luke explained, however before Nick could replied with his famous 'whatever', the man in the beanie stepped out.

_Great, forgot about him... _Nick thought to himself. He knew Eddie was going to get the group all worked up. Sometimes Nick just wished he could take off with Eddie somewhere else, but even he knew it was stupid. It was something the normal Nick would never think of doing.

"Wait, who the..?" Luke started to say before the rest of the group members started butting it.

"Nick! What the hell is this?!"

"First Clementine, now this guy?!"

"Who is this guy?!"

"Urgh" Nick once again groaned. He then turned around and walked over so that he was standing directly besides an awkwardly waiting Eddie. Not once did the sudden outburst of the cabin group faze Nick... he simply waited for them to stop with all the questions and prejudices before finally allowing himself to speak.

"Nick..." was the second thing Luke had said ever since being interrupted by the Carlos, Rebecca and Alvin.

"This is Eddie, and Eddie... this is Luke, Clementine, Carlos, his daughter Sarah, Alvin and Rebecca..." Nick explained while pointing towards each cabin group member. Luke and Clementine both had confused looks, Carlos had his regular stern face, Rebecca had her death glare, Alvin with his uneasy smile and Sarah with her 'excited to meet a new person' smile. Not that Sarah knew about what sort of person Eddie was before the plaque... But what more was to be said? Nick didn't know either.

"Um... hiya." Eddie said with a small wave and nervous smile. He felt stupid but this was generally how he came across people, awkward and weird.

"You just... met him?" Luke questioned, still confused to how a person just came out of nowhere. Hurt seemed to become visible through his features making Nick wonder why...

"Last night actually..." Nick corrected.

"Bullshit! He's with Carver! What a damn coincidence he comes along at around the same time Carver does!" Rebecca spat.

"Hey, hey! Easy now tiger, I'm with no Carver. I don't know who or what a Carver is, so please... keep the peace." Eddie defended himself before Nick could say anything. Not that Nick knew if Eddie was with Carver also. Man, didn't he feel like an idiot now?

"He's messing with us! Nick let him go, we need to get moving. Now." Carlos now comes into the picture. He doesn't sound as angry as Nick expected, but there was plenty of lecturing to come from the Hispanic man later on. Nick just knew it.

"Nah, I'm not doing that..." Nick finally found the chance to speak again. Everybody, besides Sarah who was now busy looking at a butterfly flutter carelessly around, had a shocked expression plastered onto their faces. Even Clementine who also seemed to be picking up well on the conversation took all new information in.

_Luke must've told her about Carver back at the cabin..._ Nick thought.

"Nick, Rebecca's right... he could be with Carver." Luke says sadly, trying to understand Nick's sudden urge to trust a stranger, but he couldn't get a hold of it. it didn't seem very 'Nick-like'...

"C'mon Luke, can't I just be happy for once? Isn't that what you wanted from me?! To be happy?" Nick raised his voice slightly, clearly irritated all of a sudden.

Carver was a threat, but everything nowadays was Carver, Carver, Carver! Nick just found the whole situation stupid, or maybe that was just him... wanting to die everyday. Again, he wasn't like Luke. He couldn't find himself walking without legs, but he knew Luke would find a way. Luke was always the tough guy who never showed how he felt.

_Maybe he doesn't have feelings... _Nick thought. But was that a little too harsh?

"I... you're _happy_?! Nick, you're never like this!" Luke retorted.

"Yeah, because I'm the guy that can't make friends... I get that." Nick replied sarcastically.

"Nick, it's not..." Luke was about to say before Clementine suddenly came into the argument.

"Look, isn't Carver the threat here? Why don't we just go and talk about what to do with Eddie on the way?" Clementine mentioned, clearly annoyed herself with the constant bickering that takes place nearly every minute of the day.

"C'mon kid, you believe me right?" Eddie questioned, a little disappointed that even a young girl didn't have the motive to side with him. But who was he to know about her past?

"I... uh, it's risky." Clementine replied, shuffling away slightly.

"Clementine's right, we beat the risk of getting found by Carver if we get moving now." Luke agreed, not really sure if letting Eddie tag along was the right thing to do... but if Nick refused to let him go, then so be it.

"Bullshit! Let's get rid of him now!" Rebecca snapped once again.

"Bec! Luke's right... you want to get away from Carver more than anything else, right?" Alvin asked, siding with the plan of leaving now, even with a new member tagging along awkwardly.

"He's. A. Threat." the pregnant woman now grumbled angrily.

"I agree with Rebecca." the Hispanic man now spoke up, his voice low and stern making Nick roll his eyes in annoyance.

"Look, if you want Carver to find us earlier than he should, then be my guest! We've found Nick, _now_ we get out of here!" Luke says abruptly.

Nick couldn't help but to smile slightly at this.

"I know you guys won't believe me... but I promise you I'm not with Carver." Eddie tried his best to reassure, however he still earned death glares and uncertain looks from everyone but Nick, and Sarah who seemed to be clueless to what has been going on.

"Okay, I believe you for now... c'mon guys, lets go." Luke said simply.

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><p><strong>Okay, so I apologise for this chapter and it's ending, it's crappy I know :P<strong>

**As it's the night before christmas, I've had to write around distractions and hadn't had much alone time to write in peace! I will defiantly come back to this chapter and improve, so don't worry! :)**

**Anyway, have a great christmas everyone :3**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm a mean person for not updating and I'm sorry! But here is the next chapter and I hope you enjoy, please leave a review if you do! ;)**

**School tomorrow, kinda depressed but I guess that's life :( I will be super busy studying as I've been given plenty of exams to be doing in ****school. I'm not a study freak even though I should be at these crucial times, so updates will still come! :)**

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><p>Things were awkward the moment Eddie walked further and further away from the vile shed he wished he could now call 'home'. Eddie could barely remember the names of Nick's group besides the brunette man in the orange sweater, his name was Luke. The man Nick had been rambling on about half depressingly and half angrily for the entire time he sat in the damp shed. Eddie found it surprisingly strange seeing that Luke and Nick were walking at the front of the group along with the young girl Clementine, Eddie guessed. They were all talking, Luke showing concern for Nick, and him not showing any signs of reaction back to his concern. Clementine watched sceptically all while Eddie dragged his feet along slowly in the very back of the group, wondering if he should just take off right now as no one seemed to be questioning him or even showing any trust in the first place. (Besides Nick of course. The one who actually wanted him to come along in the first place...)<p>

The group were almost in a line, however walking in pairs aside from Luke, Nick and Clementine in the front who were walking and talking as a trio. The Hispanic man and his daughter were walking behind the three, followed by the large man and his presumably wife who was also pregnant, Alvin and Rebecca, Eddie tried his best at remembering names. Occasionally, the pregnant woman would turn her head around, shooting daggers towards Eddie as he awkwardly looked away into the trees, rubbing his tattooed arms that were covered in goosebumps from the cold and bitter air.

_Great time to get pregnant... _Eddie thought to himself as he took a quick glance at the angered woman's large belly. She was soon to be due Eddie had guessed. This had meant that it had been approximately eight and a half months Rebecca had been walking around pregnant. The apocalypse started way before Alvin (or another man) could of possibly touched her...

_What was she thinking? _Eddie continued to question and think. However, it wasn't his place to make judgements. After all, he didn't know these people.

"So, I suppose you're just here to be a drain on _our_ precious resources?" the pregnant woman turned around and snapped towards Eddie, knocking him out of his deep thoughts.

Eddie looked straight back at the woman's menacing glare, confused and lost on how to respond.

"I uh... no! That's not it!" Eddie quickly replied, internally begging for Nick to come to the back of the group. For he preferred his presence over the pregnant woman's.

"Bec, c'mon don't be like that..." the large man turned and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder gently. The man then gave an apologetic smile towards Eddie all while Rebecca scoffed and turned back to face the road, hands placed over her belly protectively.

"Oh and, it's Alvin and this is Rebecca in case you forgot..." Alvin mentioned before turning back around to speak to Rebecca and calm her down.

Eddie returned a small smile but still felt weary around Rebecca especially. He wasn't afraid of her in anyway, but Eddie knew he didn't want to get on the bad side of a naturally pissed off pregnant woman... If he was to do anything to agitate her, he knew that balls would be crushed. It was a classic punishment Eddie received a lot back in the day, not that his balls were actually _crushed_, but the pain could easily pass off as that...

After a few more minutes of silent walking, Eddie looked up to see Nick pointing and gesturing towards him. Eddie felt tempted to shout out 'WHAT?!' but instead let Nick call out for him instead, for whatever the black haired man wanted.

"Eddie, come 'ere!" Nick called. His expression was practically blank but his voice seemed desperate for Eddie's attention. Surely he couldn't be bored of Luke already? Luke and Clementine also turned around to see Eddie's reaction, so awkwardly, Eddie quickened his pace slightly and joined up with the trio at the front. It was hard to ignore the glares coming from Rebecca and the Hispanic man, but Eddie got to the front in the end...

As Eddie reached the front of the group and found himself walking in-between Luke and Nick, a gentle but excitable voice came from behind him.

"Clementine, come talk to me!" the teen girl called out as she noticed the eleven year old now walking along with three grown men, face turning more and more embarrassed as she felt slightly out of her comfort zone. She trusted Luke, but still had strange thoughts about Nick and especially the new guy, Eddie.

"Sarah honey, no." Carlos retorted almost immediately, also not finding enough trust in the eleven year old either.

Clementine rolls her eyes at the man's behaviour but luckily Luke turns around and defends Sarah and her internal self, that did not have the time to respond before Carlos butted in.

"Carlos, just let them talk to each other, alright? It's been ages since Sarah's been around someone her age..." Luke explained in which Carlos reluctantly nods, scoffing as he knew he was defeated. _Anything for my daughter... _he thought.

Luke gives the two girls a small smile before Clementine pulls herself away from the trio to go walk beside the slightly older teenage girl.

Nick and Eddie silently wait for the small disagreement to end unit Luke turns back to them, giving his full attention once again.

"So, um Eddie... you just _came_ across Nick in that shed?" Luke questioned the man in the beanie awkwardly, not too sure on how he wanted to start the conversation. "Hello there, nice to talk to ya again!" seemed a little _too_ friendly...

"Luke, I told you man..." Nick interferes, looking past Eddie to give an irritated look towards the brunette.

Luke hold up his hands defensively.

"Yeah, I know man, just wanted to see it from his view, that's all." Luke replies. Eddie smiles awkwardly, waiting his turn to speak, however he cannot think of what exactly to say. Luke seemed friendly enough, but Nick didn't seem to be getting along with him that well so far, but they were the people Eddie would choose to talk to if he had no choice. Besides Alvin who also showed a satisfying kindness to him already.

"Well, I kinda saw the shed... needed to look somewhere for food. Came across Nick drinking and stuff, I guess we got along from there." Eddie explained in which Luke listened carefully. Nick also seemed to be listening, however his face softened as Eddie spoke, unlike when he spoke with Luke.

"Nick, drinking? That aint a surprise..." Luke replies with a small chuckle. Eddie also lets a light hearted chuckle but Nick sighs, clearly not in the mood for jokes.

"Why is that Luke?" Nick questioned, his words sharp causing Eddie to think hard about the problems the two seem to be having.

"Hey, I didn't mean anything by it!" Luke was quite to reply, however regret lingered within his tone of voice.

"Yeah of course not. That's what you know me by, drinking and shit. I'm not all like that!" Nick retaliated, causing Eddie to flinch slightly at the black haired man's sudden change in mood.

"I.. I didn't mean anything by it, can we just keep walking?" Luke questioned calmly.

"Whatever." Nick responded.

Luke ignored Nick's response and turned to a silent Eddie who was fiddling around with one of the small metal hoop earrings in his ear.

"So Eddie... tell me more about yourself. Were you in a group before you met Nick?" Luke questioned, a small friendly smile on his face as he attempted to start a conversation that wouldn't cause Nick to jump in all defensive like.

"Well, not exactly a group... but a guy." Eddie started to say.

Just thinking about Wyatt bought a flood of memories back to Eddie. All the stupid stuff, dangerous stuff, kind stuff he did for the bearded man, was enough to make him scream for the past to come back. He missed doing the general things teenagers did. He missed doing all the illegal shit, like drug dealing even though he knew it was bad of him to do so...

If he could just spend one more moment with Wyatt...

He would be most grateful.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello again, here's chapter 7! Thank you to everyone who left lovely reviews *throws flowers to all of you* ;)**

**And I'm sorry this is short and for not updating regularly, there has been something important going on in my neighbourhood and it's really concerning my family and I...**

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><p>"...and that is how I found Nick." Eddie finished.<p>

The bearded man had nearly spent around five minutes re-telling his chaotic journey from day one to Luke and Nick in full detail. He left information about his drugs out as he hadn't found the need to tell Luke and Nick that specific information. It wasn't like he craved weed anymore... heh, Wyatt _would_ be proud, not that he didn't take any with him as well...

"Wow, it still amazes me that people are still alive after going through all this shit, I mean hell, how am I even alive?" Luke responded with a light chuckle.

"Yeah, its been tough but I'm getting through..." Eddie replied with a smile.

"Man, we're going quite slow... Carver won't be on us soon will he?" Nick finally questioned after several minutes of silence. Even Luke nodded his head here and there when Eddie spoke, Nick just... well he just stared blankly at the road ahead.

"Easy Nick, I wanna get somewhere too but we have Rebecca and generally a large group..." Luke replied, turning around and quickly glancing at everybody who seemed to be just walking quietly and talking amongst themselves. Even Sarah had gotten quiet... The long walks were getting tedious every second they lay foot on the dirt beneath them.

Before Nick could reply, Eddie had surprisingly got in with the questions first.

"So, um... whose this Carver anyway?" Eddie casually asked, now becoming more and more worried as everybody seemed to talk about him like some sort of life or death threat.

"Carver, well Carver..." Luke started to say.

"Is an asshole." Nick interrupted.

Eddie chuckled under his breath as Luke gave Nick a harsh glare but smirking afterwards to show that he was joking.

"As I was saying before a certain blue eyed freak interrupted me... Carver is a dangerous man." Luke finished, reaching over to Nick and giving a playful nudge as the black haired man lightly snickered to himself.

"Yeah, gathered that." Eddie replied like it was obvious, but still smiled at the casual banter between the two other men.

"Yeah... and Carver um, well he had a community and..." Luke again began to say.

"Long story short, we were a part of it. Things happened, Carver changed... Rebecca, well Rebecca is um, pregnant most likely because of him. We ran away, found the cabin and yeah..." Nick quickly explained instead of waiting for Luke to tell the long version of the story.

"Jesus." Eddie simply replied. He thought back on his prejudgments of Rebecca, how he wondered why she would get herself pregnant in the middle of the apocalypse. Never did he consider she was possibly raped... Eddie was lucky he never said any of his thoughts out loud.

"Yeah, it has been pretty shitty. Carver came to the cabin when we were out looking for Nick and his uncle. Clementine and Sarah were in the cabin when Carver came around... he's probably looking for us now." Luke added, a worried expression now forming on his face. Eddie couldn't help but to notice.

"We'll get away from him, right?" Eddie asked with the little hope he had left.

"Hopefully. We'll head for the mountains now, find somewhere were it will be colder so walkers get slow." Luke explained.

"Colder? Brilliant." Eddie sighed. He was never fond of the cold and he didn't know why exactly.

"It's not good for us, Luke. What about Rebecca and the baby? Plus, going north is getting closer to Howe's..." Nick added, glancing over to Luke, slight frustration lingering within his blue orbs.

"It's our only choice. And, Howe's is to the east." Luke replied simply, looking straight ahead and not over to Nick.

"I think it's stupid." Nick mumbled, trying to keep his cool as Eddie awkwardly tensed in between the two.

"Well you think a lot of things are stupid, Nick." Luke retorted, however in a calm manner.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Nick retorted.

"Guys..." Eddie tried to interfere. He wasn't in the mood for boy trouble. But it was strange really... usually it would be _him_ causing it. But was he?

"It's nothin' Nick, jesus..." Luke quickly, drawing the small argument to a close.

"Luke, I think we should make camp soon... the days are growing darker as we approach winter." the voice of the hispanic man rose from behind them all of a sudden.

Luke, Eddie and Nick turn at the new voice but Luke replies as the concern was addressed to him. After all, Luke was the leader figure.

"Yeah, I agree... can we manage a little longer?" Luke called out to all the group members, mainly Rebecca as she would be the one asking for regular breaks.

A nod of heads replied soon after and Luke turned back to the road, engaging in another conversation with mainly Eddie to try and stop the awkwardness between him and Nick. He didn't want it to be awkward, but it just was...

Nick 24/7 seemed pissed with Luke. And Luke himself wasn't the only one to figure this out... Already, Eddie seemed to notice it. Maybe even Clementine.

Usually it's girl trouble which you hear of most, but this time... well, it was _boy_ trouble. Eddie could just predict it. What was he going to cause in the future?


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi guys! Here is the next chapter at last! I made it a little longer to make up for my absence.**

**I just wanted to say... I didn't want Carver to be the main focus in this story so I decided to not go along with what actually happens in the game (Carver capturing everyone blah blah blah.) I may make a different situation so that I don't have to go with what's canon, hopefully you're okay with that! I'm okay for suggestions however, but I didn't want this story to drag on forever as I ****intended for it to be a one shot (weird, i know!) Anyways, hope you enjoy and please feel free to leave a review if you do!**

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><p>The sun slowly started to set, hiding away in the grey clouds and allowing the moon to take over, guarding the night like it had been doing before the dead even started walking.<p>

Eddie always found the moon fascinating, he would always tell Wyatt his long stories on why he wanted to be an astronaut and get sent up into space, leaving the earth and its people to be a distant memory... but Wyatt would say he was just high on his alcohol consumption. After all, Eddie would always bring up the same dumb conversation about the moon when Wyatt and him were standing outside the pub drinking, all while gazing at the night sky, drunk but still able to tell what was _actually_ in the sky.

But Eddie's stories weren't the ones where you would listen intently, happy that the bearded man had his ambitions... Wyatt's responses however, were pretty accurate to what anyone would say to Eddie.

_"You're just drunk, and you talk shit when you're drunk."_ and it made sense...

...

"When I'm on the moon, maybe I'll find out that aliens are not from Mars but from the moon!"

"Imagine sex when there's no gravity!"

"What if it _is_ just a big piece of cheese?!"

It wouldn't be long until Wyatt (who didn't get drunk as easily as Eddie) would take Eddie's glass, walk into the pub, place it on the counter and leave. Wyatt would physically drag Eddie along the pavement to get back to their apartment. He was just glad that he was capable of knowing the rules of drink driving and how easily you could get busted if an accident was to occur. They've both done a ton of illegal shit, but they were smart in some ways. Yeah, Eddie... smart, sounds crazy right?

Walking home from the pub seemed to be the wisest choice...

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><p>"Right, we'll camp here for the night and get moving early morning." Luke explained to the rest of the group as he too, noticed the sun saying its daily goodbye.<p>

"Finally." Rebecca muttered from the back, rubbing her pregnant belly and her back with both her hands.

The camping area wasn't in the middle of the so called path, but was in a spot amongst the towering trees. This looked like a place people had camped out before as burnt pieces of wood were scattered around the area along with three large logs placed on the ground for seating.

The group breathed a sigh of relief when they finally got to sit down. Luke, Nick and Eddie sat on one log. (Eddie in-between the two men.) Clementine, Sarah and Carlos on the second, opposite the three men. And finally, Alvin and Rebecca got their own log, where they cuddled up together to generate heat as the days where not only growing darker, but colder.

_The dreaded winter approaches..._

It was silent for a few moments as the group did nothing but sit and stared blankly into space. Eddie awkwardly rubbed his arms up and down, thinking about keeping himself warm rather than questioning the groups strange silence, however Luke was quick to speak up, not at the group but at him.

"Hey, you want a blanket? We've got plenty." Luke says, looking down at Eddie who was rubbing his arms vigorously, earning a strange glare from Rebecca. She didn't seem to like anything that Eddie did...

Before Eddie could reply, Luke had already reached over to one of the backpacks placed on the ground by Carlos, and pulled out an olive green fleece blanket, laying it over Eddie's shoulders like he was a child. Luckily the group had already started unpacking, and sorting out their equipment to throw any more glances towards Eddie as he innocently sat with a blanket draped over his shoulders.

"Uh, thanks man." Eddie gratefully replied, sighing in relief as he could feel the fabric warm his skin just at the touch.

Luke smiled in return causing Nick to cast a death glare stronger than all of Rebecca's combined towards the brunette. He was the only one who was picking up on what was going on as the rest of the group sorted themselves out, getting comfortable as they had the whole night ahead.

Luke shrugged his shoulders and then proceeded to stand up, walking around the small area and collecting unburnt pieces of wood to start a temporary fire. A fire before the night draws in, is safer than a fire when it's completely dark.

"Dad, I'm hungry." Sarah whispered to her father who was up and helping with pulling out blankets and dishing out cans from his backpack.

"Yes honey, I'm getting some food..." Carlos replied with a small reassuring smile. He passed a single can of beans towards his daughter and Clementine soon after.

"You two girls, share this between you..." Carlos says as Sarah gratefully took the can from his hands.

"Thank you." both girls said in unison, however Sarah sounded a lot more excited than Clementine.

"Rebecca, Alvin..." Carlos says, chucking a can over to the pair as Alvin caught it with no problem.

"Thank you" they both said in unison.

Lastly, Carlos passed two cans towards the trio of men before sitting himself down next to Sarah, his arm draped around her shoulder protectively.

Luke had also finished making a small fire and sat back down next to Eddie, giving a small nod towards Carlos in appreciation for the food.

"What about you?" Eddie managed to ask before anyone else could.

Carlos look surprised that Eddie was even showing concern for him.

"I'm... not hungry but thank you." Carlos responds quickly.

Eddie nods, glad for himself for asking as all he wanted now was to warm up to these people. He then goes to open one of the cans while Nick goes for the other.

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><p>It wasn't long until everybody was tucking into their food, devouring the contents of the cans but being extra careful not to have <em>too<em> much as they still had days worth of travelling from what Luke said. Even Carlos got slightly peckish and Sarah was kind enough to offer some beans to her father in which he took a few mouthfuls gratefully.

Eddie was more than just grateful on the other hand. It had been a long time since he had anything to eat, just whiskey from less than a day ago.

Already, he felt safer with these people...

"So, what's the plan for you guys?" Eddie questioned after deciding to give the rest of his share to both Luke and Nick as he was kind enough not to try and hog all the food for himself. He also wanted to make conversation with the group instead of fading into the background and being the suspicious mute.

"Yeah, what is the plan?" Clementine finally spoke up, not knowing much more than Eddie did at the moment.

"That is none of your concern..." Carlos spoke but more towards Clementine.

"Hey, c'mon now Carlos, don't be like that." Luke snaps back but not harshly, in which the hispanic man just sighed and kept quiet.

"We make for the mountains right? Avoid Carver and get to safety." Alvin suggested even though he knew that was the plan all along.

"Yes, but it's gonna be cold so we need to find safe places on the way to stay so we can actually get to the mountains before dying of hypothermia." Luke added.

"I still think it's a bullshit idea." Nick intervenes.

"Well it's the plan, Nick... whether you like it or not." Luke says irritated in which the raven haired man scoffs and goes back to staring into the warm fire.

"Guys, why don't we just discuss this tomorrow?" Rebecca suggests while yawning. For once she didn't sound irritated, tired but calm.

"Yeah, I agree." Luke says.

"Okay, just wondering because I didn't really have anywhere to go other than to find my friend." Eddie adds.

"Don't worry, we can keep a look out, we just need to stay out of harms way when it come to Carver." Luke explains with a reassuring smile which Nick manages to pick up on. The black haired man stands up with a blood red blanket and walks over to a nearby tree, leaning his back against it and pulling the front of his cap down to cover his face. He also drapes the blanket across his legs and closes his eyes.

The group just watch as Nick isolates himself without saying a word but choose to ignore it as it was generally Nick's attitude.

"Is he okay?" Eddie whispers to Luke, concerned.

Luke sighs, watching Nick for a few moments before looking back to Eddie.

"Yeah, he's fine." he replied. Eddie just nodded, slightly unsatisfied with Luke's answer but chose to leave Nick alone just incase he was in some sort of snappy mood.

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><p>It only took a few more hours until the group decided to turn in for the night.<p>

Luke put out the fire and got himself a brown fleece blanket. He also gave a large brown one for Clementine and Sarah to share, same with Rebecca and Alvin. Carlos was left with the a matching red blanket to Nick's as he lied himself not too far from where Sarah slept back to back with Clementine. She didn't seem to mind as Sarah was a girl slightly older than her and it had been a _long_ time since she was with another girl her age.

Eddie lie against the log he was sat on, wrapped up in his olive green blanket. He couldn't sleep knowing that Luke was lying not too far from him. He felt bad for Nick. Wasn't he and Luke meant to be best friends? Was Nick still angry that Luke didn't 'love' him in that way?

Luke and the rest of the group were asleep but Nick had been sleeping longest, maybe he was awake now... someone had to take watch, right?

Without further hesitation, Eddie stood up and carefully made his way in the dark to Nick. After all, he knew what it was like being around him... he slept in a shed with the man.

"Nick?" Eddie whispered as he got closer to the tree that Nick was still leaned against.

"Yeah?" came the reply.

"I knew you would be awake." Eddie whispered back with a small smirk on his face.

"Well someone had to be on watch, right?" Nick said with slight humour in his voice.

Finally, the pair could be alone once again...


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello, new update! This is mainly a Nick/Eddie conversation! Thank you for the reviews in the last chapter! Most are begging for a Neddie kiss and I promise that will happen at some point, but I will point out now that this will be quite a slow-burn romance even though the two are already showing signs of affection for ****each other! I'm sorry D: *runs away***

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><p>"What you doing awake?" Nick asks the other man who takes a seat right next to Nick. He leans against the tree trunk, his side pressed lightly against Nick's while he rubs his tattooed arms up and down. Stupidly, he leaves his fleece blanket on the ground. No wonder he was cold...<p>

"I could ask you the same." Eddie replies, flashing a grin towards Nick who gave his full attention. Even in the darkness they could still see the features upon each others faces. The fire was out, not giving that illuminating glow but it didn't mean the two men couldn't see each other.

"I didn't think you'll worry." Nick says, returning the small smile.

"Well, it seems that I'm getting on better with your folks than you are." Eddie mentions, his teeth unconsciously chattering as the light wind picked up. Goosebumps formed on Eddies exposed skin and Nick noticed right away, pulling his red blanket away from himself and draping half of it over Eddie and the other half over himself. Eddie gives a nod in appreciation before letting Nick continue.

"I'm just still kinda mad is all..." Nick explains, however the words didn't feel right on his tongue. He was mad, mad at Luke and he couldn't seem to understand why he's making such a big deal (like Luke would probably say).

"Well man, you can't stay mad forever, they're practically your family if I'm not mistaken." Eddie says, doing his best to at least make things more right for Nick.

Nick nods uncertainly but he takes in the information.

"But what about Pete? What about my uncle? He was my real family, the last of it... and now he's dead." Nick mutters, his eyes shifting away from Eddie and looking towards Luke's sleeping form a few metres away.

"I know, that sucks Nick, but Luke is your family... he's your best friend and you have the other guys. Like Rebecca and her cool afro hair! Carlos and his awesome plaid shirt!" Eddie jokes, causing a light chuckle to escape from Nick's lips as the black haired man turned his gaze towards Eddie once again. His blue eyes looked livelier when he laughed.

"I know... your right man, but maybe it's just me. I shouldn't even be mad at Luke but I am." Nick says sadly. Everything was Nick's fault, he couldn't control his anger. But Eddie could understand, after all he had his own anger issues at times, he was just good at concealing it.

"Hey, don't go beating yourself up. Luke cares about you, and the more you hate yourself, the more time he's gonna have to spend looking after ya." Eddie replies, his voice surprisingly gentle.

"I'm not a kid." Nick shot back.

"No, I'm not saying that... Well, you would be a kid if you keep actin' like this!" Eddie mocked lightly, in which Nick went back to a small smile.

"Okay, I'll try..." Nick says simply.

"Try what?" Eddie questioned.

"Being normal, you asshole!" Nick joked, lightly punching Eddie's arm.

"Oh _sorry_, doofus!" Eddie retorted.

"Doofus? Is that all you got man?" Nick chuckled.

"I'm a kid at heart! Don't mock!" Eddie exclaimed.

"Ha, _sure_..." Nick finishes, rolling his eyes but smiling.

Awkward silence passed for the next few seconds and the two men just stared at each other before staring out into the distance to where the other group members slept quietly, occasional snoring coming from Alvin and surprisingly, Rebecca.

"So, was Wyatt hot?" Nick casually asked after those few moments of peaceful silence.

Eddie turned his head, checking over Nick's face to see if the black haired man was actually serious.

"What?" Nick questioned defensively.

"Na-nothing... just, what?" Eddie stammered awkwardly, his face burning an obvious red.

"Was Wyatt hot? Or should I say, _is_ he hot?" Nick repeated his question, face not showing that _'I'm just messing with ya_' emotion.

"Why Nick? Just why?" Eddie questions, the corners of his mouth forming into a small smirk.

"Why not?" Nick replies all casual-like. He waits for Eddie to answer, his own mouth tugging into a smile of its own.

"Hey, you wanna know something, Nick?" Eddie changes the subject, however Nick still asks, his original question stored in the back of his mind temporarily.

"What, Eddie?"

"You, are an asshole..." Eddie says before adjusting his beanie on his head.

Nick raises an eyebrow in confusion.

"Oh would you look at that! I was gonna say the exact same thing, asshole." Nick returns the joke.

Eddie chuckles, watching how Nick's smile never fades and his eyes never lose its mesmerising blue colour.

Nick is also watching Eddie. He takes a look at the other man. He had a slightly thicker beard and piercings. Nick defiantly liked this look, a band he enjoyed listening to were known for their short hair, big beards and piercings and Eddie was a striking resemblance.

"So.. about Wyatt." Eddie says, breaking the awkward staring.

"Yes, I'm glad you remembered my question!" Nick says enthusiastically, ignoring the sudden cold wind that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

"I don't see why it's so important." Eddie added, pushing himself slightly closer to Nick for warmth. He felt the black haired man tense slightly but he chose to ignore it.

"I just wanna know, I'm bored." Nick explains.

"He had a beard, big one too." Eddie says, thinking back to his best friend. Oh, how he missed Wyatt._ Good old Wyatt..._

Nick chuckled under his breath.

"So you like guys with beards?" Nick questioned.

"No... not necessarily, and are you saying that I'm _gay_?" Eddie asked, turning his head to see Nick's reaction.

"No... just wondering, can't a man wonder?" Nick replies.

"Don't you mean can't a _boy_ wonder?" Eddie teased.

"Hey, you've crossed the line!" Nick snapped, however he still chuckled, punching Eddie's arm again.

"Okay, now you're just being abusive!" Eddie exclaims.

"What, you gonna call the cops? Good luck with that!" Nick mocks, adjusting his cap like Eddie had done with his beanie.

"Hey, don't get me afraid of you now!"

"What's to be afraid of? You saying I'm ugly?!"

"What? No!"

...

The banter seemed to go on forever, but luckily the sound of walkers was not to be heard and the group were still sound asleep. For once, Nick and Eddie could have a chat, ignore all the bad. But Eddie still worried. He worried about Wyatt but also his loyalty to the group. He hasn't told anyone about killing a man, leaving Wyatt, and all the drugs. Surely they have experience shit, maybe done some crazy shit too... but Eddie thought of himself different. He didn't care about much before the apocalypse, he didn't care how his rash actions put fear amongst innocent people in his town. Truly, Eddie was a bad person, surviving in a fucked up world. Or maybe Eddie was just one of the many bad people and he just thought low of himself like Nick did.

"Hey, you okay?"

Eddie immediately snapped out of his thoughts. He didn't know how long Nick and him were talking but apparently he seemed to have zoned out and Nick was waving his hand in front of Eddie's face. Eddie also noticed how Nick was practically pressed up against the side of him, faces only and inch or two away.

"Oh hey, I'm fine..." Eddie answered quickly, flashing a reassuring smile. He tried to look Nick in the eyes but they were so close he was going cross-eyed. Eddie could feel every breath coming from Nick tickling his skin, he didn't mind it to be honest.

"You zoned out." Nick says soon after.

"Yeah, I know... just thinking" Eddie replied.

"About what? If ya don't mind me asking." Nick asks curiously.

"Um, it's nothin', just thinking about the past is all..." Eddie replied nervously.

Luckily, Nick warmly smiled and pulled himself even closer to Eddie that he placed his head on the others mans shoulder.

Eddie allowed it, smiling as he felt warmth and his eyes giving in. Ever so slowly, he drifted off to sleep, forgetting that he left his perfectly good blanket in his old spot. Nick also fell asleep after Eddie had stopped speaking. He felt better leaning against Eddie. He felt a sense of comfort that he longed for. Hopefully, Nick wouldn't be so aggressive towards Luke in the morning. Eddie had helped control his anger lately, he also became a good friend to him. It took Nick ages to befriend someone in the past. He was lucky Luke was so 'out there' when they had first met or he most probably would have no friends at all.

But this wasn't a matter of friendship. Nick loved Luke but Luke obviously didn't feel the same way. Or did he? It didn't matter anyway, Nick felt different with Eddie. It hasn't been long since they first met, but Eddie was understanding. Luke was too, but there was something different about Eddie, something Nick seemed to love so much...

Was he possibly falling for Eddie?


	10. Chapter 10

**Omg, such a crappy chapter! D:**

**Like you guys, I want to get to the actual relationship, however slow-burning it would be more realistic... Unless I switch up Nick and Eddie's characters so that they seem a bit more... desperate? However, I don't want them to be too OCC.**

**I'm loosing the power to make this story good. It was intended to be a one-shot but I can understand why you would want me to continue as we're 10 chapters in and the two haven't frickin kissed! :P**

**I'll try my best, I'm sorry if this is crappy! I'll get things going soon, however this story may not last as long as I intended. (I just want to get to the relationship already!)**

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><p>"Up ya get love birds!" Luke teased from above the resting forms of Eddie and Nick.<p>

Immediately Eddie shot up, his eyes wide and face flushed as he noticed a groggy Nick stirring slowly awake from leaning on his shoulder throughout the night.

"What did ya drink last night?" Luke questioned, a light humour in his voice as he removed the shared blanket and proceeded to stuff it in one of the backpacks he was holding.

"Uh nothing... I don't think." Eddie replied, confusing the night with the one back at the shed.

"Ha, yeah I know man. Here, let me help you up before Nick drenches you with drool!" Luke laughed. Eddie smiled and held out his hand in which Luke grasped onto Eddie and pulls him up swiftly.

Nick groaned as he felt Eddie's presence disappear but soon pulled himself up, yawning several times before adjusting his eyes to his surroundings.

Everybody was up and getting packed to get moving again. Carlos was in deep conversation with Rebecca and Alvin, and Sarah was as hyper as ever as she giggled and spoke with a gently smiling Clementine. The supplies were neatly packed away into the correct backpacks and the smell of burning wood was faint in the morning air.

It was a good start. The weather was not too cold, nor too warm. The group were well fed and had a large supply of food and medicine. Carver had not showed up yet and no casualties have been suffered ever since Pete died. The group still mourned, but soon learnt to continue on with the life within the hellish reality. Nick also, was doing okay, showing a more affectionate side of himself when it came to Eddie. A side which was never open to anyone for a long time…

Luke couldn't help but to let his mind wander. He felt like crap due to the way he treated his best friend, but the more he isolated himself away from him, the more of a longing he felt truly. He was a shitty friend and needed to apologise properly, but Nick seemed himself with Eddie.

The certain man in a beanie stole Luke's chance to make things right, but what Luke felt about the two was annoyingly difficult to adjust to. Sometimes, Luke felt as he was falling for Nick, but maybe that was because he felt sorry for him, sorry that he was such an asshole. Luke also felt slightly jealous of Eddie as this particular man recovered Nick and his state in one solid night. But at the same time, Luke enjoyed Eddie's company and liked talking to him…

It was not like Eddie didn't feel the same however. He was most probably falling for Nick, but then again, what about Wyatt? Has it been so long that he just forgot about what they could've had? Has it been so long that he had completely forgotten about how he once felt?

And then there was Luke. Luke was pretty charming, level-headed from what Eddie could see. But underneath those looks and positive traits, Eddie could see guilt. Eddie could see somebody forcing himself to become a better person but his time was clearly up. Eddie could only think that what Nick spoke of Luke, was true and Luke himself knew it. Luke was trying to get back to Nick but it was over. Nick didn't feel the same way as he used to anymore. Was this the same with Wyatt and Eddie? But it has been so long… what would happen if they reunited? They wouldn't hate each other, would they?

It was then that a certain raven haired man distracted Eddie from his ongoing thoughts.

"Morning." Nick said casually, his positive attitude topped with a tired smile.

Eddie returned the smile and replied with a 'Good morning' surprised with himself for sounding so proper for once in his life.

"Right, I say we travel a few hours and take a break, then hit the road again." Luke spoke, holding out a large map in front of himself and studying the winding route that they had been taking.

The majority of the the group nodded, adjusting bags on their backs while Rebecca sighed.

"I just wanna have this baby and be normal again, I feel useless." she uttered, disappointed within herself.

"Hey Becs, it's okay. We've got this." Alvin soothingly replies, carrying what would've been Rebecca's load of supplies.

"Yeah Bec, don't feel useless... You've been carrying a baby, so when we complain, you have the right to hit us." Luke joked.

Rebecca let out a small chuckle in which Eddie smiled. It was nice to see such a hot-headed person smile naturally. It was the same with Nick as well…

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><p>Eddie knew he was capable of being a better person to the group. Some still despised him, some enjoyed his company, but 247 Eddie could only think about what he wasn't telling the others. Yes, he'd only met them like... yesterday. But to stay alive, the group was his only chance.

Eddie had come to a decision that today he'll tell the group the truth. He hid a lot behind his smile, but Eddie felt the regret, the guilt and remorse flow through his veins and taunt his mind.

The man he killed, abandoning his best friend, the drugs and all the other shit he did... would make him a criminal.

Somethings just _have_ to be said.

It was the truth, and telling the truth makes you an _honest_ person...

But sometimes, telling the truth doesn't make you a _trustworthy_ person.

Sometimes, the truth was down right dangerous.


	11. Chapter 11

**Yaay new chapter! Please don't kill me for the outcome of this one... I can see you Neddie shippers desperately waiting for a kiss (or two) ! xD**

**Thank you for the kind and funny reviews last chapter, you guys are so supportive! Thank you :)**

**Please leave and review if you enjoyed!**

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><p>Eddie cracked his knuckles on both hands and took a sharp intake of breath. He dreaded the reactions, he dreaded what they would think of him. Could they be accepting? The answer was probably 'no'...<p>

Clearing his throat, Eddie raised his voice in which the entire group turned heads towards the shaking, tattooed man in the beanie.

"Guys, I need to be clear with you..." Eddie said quickly, gulping as most of the group gave looks of concern while others simply glared. They all stopped what they were doing, cutting conversations short as to hear what was going to be announced. Rebecca seemed pretty pissed while the others seemed curious. Nick took a step towards Eddie upon hearing his voice, however Eddie held up a hand, indicating for the raven haired man to stop and just listen.

Eddie cleared his throat again.

"You okay?" Nick questioned.

Eddie nodded before speaking. _Just get this over with! _he could hear Wyatt complaining in the back of his mind.

"I can't hide this and because of the um, kind stuff you've been doing for me... I need to tell you the truth." Eddie started to explain. Already, the group aroused with questions but Eddie cut them off, desperate to spill the beans before his anxiety levels hit the roof.

"I...I um, did some shit before I met you guys." Eddie trembled as he spoke, however he kept his voice clear all while trying to ignore Nick's pleading puppy eyed look. Nick most probably felt bad for Eddie having to explain the difficult parts, but Eddie knew that there were some things he hadn't told Nick yet either... this could all change. For the worse.

"What kinda shit?!" Rebecca harshly snapped in which Alvin placed a hand on her shoulder quickly.

"Let him explain." he said sternly however calmly as he knew Rebecca's temper was something you wouldn't want to tamper with.

"I killed a guy, that's one thing." Eddie blurted, but before he could continue explaining, the majority of the group got into a mad panic and started questioning and accusing.

"You... killed a guy? Walker or living?" Luke questioned quickly.

"I told you he was false!" Rebecca retorted.

"Bec, stop..." Alvin calmly said once again.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Nick asked, generally surprised but not in a way that he felt betrayed of trust. (which was surprising to Eddie)

"I don't need to know anymore, don't come near me _or_ my daughter!" Carlos threatened. Already, he had lost it and overreacted.

After a few more tedious rounds of questioning and arguing, Eddie finally managed to acknowledge his voice again.

"Guys, listen!" Eddie raised his voice, flapping his arms around to gain everyones attention back to his explanation.

"We've heard enough!" Rebecca barked.

"Rebecca, let him speak!" Luke interferes before Alvin could.

"He killed somebody! I bet they were innocent!" Rebecca added, her face burning up in hot anger. She truly hated Eddie from the start...

"Bec, what about me?! Didn't I kill someone?!" Alvin's voice now broke through, in which Rebecca was stunned silent for a moment. Eddie was also taken aback by the new information.

"I killed a guy, George remember?" Alvin added. The group went quiet...

"That was different." Rebecca muttered, defeated.

"No, Bec it wasn't. Let him speak, I wanna hear..." Alvin bravely finished in which Rebecca snarled towards the ground, not happy with the fact that she was outsmarted by her husband.

"You're defending him now?!" Carlos questions Alvin. A confused anger coated his facial features.

"What? No I-" Alvin was about to explain.

"GUYS!" Eddie roared, his tone of voice surprising himself. Sarah and Clementine also jump at the sudden yell, in which Eddie apologises to the two girls gently. Carlos sends a 'Don't mess with my daughter' look and Eddie shyly looks away.

"That's... that's not it. I, uh done others things as well." Eddie began to say, reverting back to his nervous state. Nick and Luke flash an apologetic look while Rebecca murmurs a sarcastic "Brilliant."

"I was pretty hooked on drugs, weed especially. I dealt drugs, traded and well...yeah. That guy was also an innocent." Eddie reluctantly added the last part. The truth was being told anyway...

"No." the hispanic man suddenly spoke after a few moments silence.

"No what?" Luke turned and questioned.

"I'm not having him in this group. I vote him out!" Carlos explained, his face stern all while Eddie gulped for the umpteenth today.

"Wait stop! We've seen shit, done shit... why is Eddie so different?!" Nick argued, in which Eddie gratefully smiled, however he kept it hidden.

"I agree with Carlos." Rebecca intervened, changing the subject back to throwing Eddie out.

"Where will he go?!" Luke also argued against Carlos and Rebecca.

"Guys, I'm sorry...I really am, but I _had_ to tell you." Eddie says, pleading for forgiveness that he knew by now, he wasn't going to get.

"Bullshit, you just wanted our stuff!" Rebecca hissed, her voice cracking slightly due to all the pitch changes she'd been going through.

"No, no I did not. If I _were_ a thief, I'd like to think that I am an honest one!" Eddie retorted.

"Come on, he hasn't done anything to us yet." Alvin added.

"Yet." Rebecca muttered in which Alvin went silent once again.

"This is stupid, I don't care what you guys say... I'm staying with him!" Nick argued.

"Can we just give him a chance? I mean, you gave me one despite the fact I could've turned into a walker..." Clementine joins the argument, however she speaks more calmly above the rest.

"I agree!" Sarah pipes up in which Carlos glared towards his daughter.

"Sarah!" he snapped. The black haired girl went quiet almost immediately and reverted back to staring glumly down at the muddy earth.

"Guys, just calm the fuck down! Look, Eddie you seem like a great guy but-" Luke started to speak however Nick interjected, his eyebrows furrowed as he watch Luke slowly turn sides.

"Fuck that! Luke, you said it! Where will he go? If he is _so_ bad, wouldn't he just come back and kill us in our sleep!?" Nick argued all while stuttering. He had so much to say at once...

Eddie grimaced at the thought of coming back to kill everyone in their sleep, but he knew that wasn't him. Besides, Nick was sticking up for him.

"We'll just kill him here then!" Rebecca suggested with a fierce passion, however the looks on everyones faces (even Carlos's) told her otherwise.

"Wha-what? Doesn't that make you just as bad as I am?!" Eddie questioned frantically in which Rebecca slowly backs away, regretting the words that just slipped out.

"No one is killing anybody!" Luke snapped.

"Look, I know I said it okay? Nick's right, sending him away isn't going to help anything." he continues.

"I ju-just needed to tell you guys the truth... no forgiveness? Fine, I'll be on my way..." Eddie says sadly. He only had a gun with one bullet and a pocket knife after all...

"No, Eddie..." Nick started to say, however the words wouldn't come out. Instead, he placed his hand briefly on Eddie's tattooed arm but Eddie shrugged away the touch reluctantly.

It was silent for a few moments. The group were simply thinking until Clementine broke the awkwardness. They were meant to be getting away from Carver, why was everyone just standing around?!

"What are we going to do? What about Carver?" Clementine asked around in which everyones head snapped up, Rebecca's especially.

"Carver's one concern, Eddie... is another." Carlos replied. Eddie sadly glanced away, scratching his head all while awaiting the final decision.

He knew he was a burden. Constantly walking around with someone who did illegal things before the apocalypse was dangerous, but wasn't everybody? Hell, even Clementine could be dangerous! Eddie didn't want to be involved with this Carver guy, but if he had some sort of community, maybe Wyatt was there? Maybe he should leave? After all, being alone would get him to some sort of place quicker than having a large group with children and a pregnant woman.

But what about supplies? Eddie didn't care. He couldn't stay any longer knowing that a certain pregnant woman had thoughts on her mind which involved killing him. What if the group came to that decision? Killing him while he slept... Eddie couldn't risk it, Nick or no Nick, Eddie was leaving.

Eddie was pulled out of his thoughts to hear the group arguing once again. Alvin and Rebecca were arguing together. Carlos, Luke and Nick were arguing and Sarah and Clementine were awkwardly shifting around, trying their best not to get caught up in the drama...

This was it.

No one was paying attention to him right now even though they were arguing about _him_.

Eddie took a sharp intake of breath...

Looking towards the direction the group were already heading, (North) Eddie took off, not looking back once.

Several shouts were heard behind him but Eddie forced himself to keep looking forward.

He was naturally a fast runner, already out of sight from the group, but here again Eddie could only think of one thing, one person.

Nick...


	12. Chapter 12

**Just thought I'd get a chapter out before I get ready for returning to dreaded school tomorrow D: (Lawd, give me strength)**

**I feel like I'm on a roll this week when it comes to updating, maybe not this story but my others ;P hopefully this chapter satisfies!**

**Thanks for the reviews last chapter, let's make it to 40! Anyways, as usual... hope you enjoy and please feel free to leave a review if you do! I love to hear (read) your feedback ;)**

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><p>The key was to keep breathing and to worry later.<p>

_Don't think about them, don't think about them! _was the ongoing thought in Eddie's mind. But it didn't help that several other voices in his head had to give their opinions as well! One would say, _"Go back, what about Nick?!"_ the other would say, _"You're screwed, you have nothing to protect yourself for another week!" _and the last would say,_ "They're angry at you, you're a threat and they will kill you when they get the chance!"_

Eddie simply repeated the key in order to shunt out his other distracting thoughts.

_Keep breathing, worry later..._

It didn't take long before Eddie was fully aware that he was clear out of sight from the group. He had run approximately a mile north, but nothing changed besides the chatter of the group turning into an echoing silence. Eddie was still in the forest, surrounded by miserable nature and here and there, walker groans would echo, joining in with Eddie's panting. He finally stopped running for a break, but still desperately needed water. However, he took off without even thinking, taking nothing but his own pistol with one bullet, along with his soon to be broken pocket knife.

Wasn't life just getting better?

After regaining what was left of his breath, Eddie started walking again. He had no clue where to go other than to not turn back. The risk of meeting up with the group again was too much for Eddie to possibly handle...

But Eddie thought back to Nick as he shivered when the wind picked up. Nick was a pretty cool guy. Had a temper, yes... but was pretty calm with him. Eddie wondered what Nick was doing now. Was he arguing with the others? Did he forget that someone just took off and could be a potential _threat_? (Not that Eddie planned on coming back to hurt anybody anytime soon...)

Shaking these thoughts away, Eddie made his way through the never-ending forest in hope of finding some sort of refuge for the night. He wasn't willing to sleep out in the open. Not when he had practically nothing to defend himself. With the group, he had many pairs of eyes and ears to watch out for walkers or scavengers, but alone... he had nothing.

The wind howled again, leaving more goosebumps up Eddie's arms. He shivered non-stop as he trekked further forward. Tonight and the many other nights ahead, were going to be frightening.

Suddenly, a loud grumble came from below.

Eddie sighed.

"Fucking hungry..." Eddie muttered to himself miserably. But again, the thought dawned on him. He had _nothing_ to eat.

_Maybe if you find a bear, you could eat that... _Wyatt's stupid voice spoke in which Eddie rolled his eyes.

"Where the fuck will I find the balls to let me kill a bear and eat it?" Eddie mumbled to himself quietly.

_You have balls physically, count yourself lucky bro... _Wyatt replied.

Eddie chuckled.

"Indeed I have..." he replied to the Wyatt inside his head.

_Remember when we thought we saw a bear in the woods?_

"Um, no..."

_Well we did! That's just probably the weed talking!_

"Man, how long has it been since I've had weed?! Besides, I'm serious... never did we see a 'bear' in the woods."

_Stupid._

"Man boobs."

_Alright, you win._

"I always win when I mention the man boobs."

_You have a stupid beard._

"Says you! You didn't bother to fucking shave! I on the other hand, did!"

_Whatever man._

And from then on, the imaginary banter ended. But the reason why it ended was because out of nowhere, a tall decaying walker appeared from behind the trees causing Eddie to do a double take.

"Shit!" he cursed as the rotting body of a man came stumbling towards him, arms outstretched and teeth clearly yellow.

Eddie fumbled around, pulling out his pistol but then changing his mind to the pocket knife.

"Motherfucker, rain on the parade why don't cha?!" Eddie accused the walker as he came closer towards him. He had his pocket knife up and ready but it wasn't going to serve very well.

"Fuck it." Eddie says simply before lunging forward and tackling the walker to the ground. The walker squirmed underneath the weight of Eddie as it tried to wave it arms around. The attempts however, were fruitless.

Once Eddie had the waker pinned underneath him, it's rotten mouth nowhere near any of Eddie's skin, he drove his pocket knife straight through it's yellowed, grey forehead. The walker cried out at first, but soon after went as limp as a bone fish. Eddie could only mentally cheer as he pulled himself up. His pocket knife had snapped unfortunately, but Eddie was still sane enough to hear walkers approaching even as he had his mental banter between a friend who could possibly be dead...

Eddie could only feel proud.

After several more miles worth of walking as slow as a walker itself, Eddie came to realise that late afternoon was drawing in. He hadn't had any food or drink and was exhausted from both walking and tackling down another four walkers. This time, he had to be more careful as he didn't have a sharp weapon to kill them. Instead, he would either stamp on their skulls or use the handle of his pistol in order to destroy their brains.

Wyatt's voice had also disappeared, leaving Eddie feeling as lonely as he did the day he left his best friend. Eddie could defiantly bring the humour and the smiles to peoples faces, even himself... but now, he felt like nothing, had nothing. Eventually, he was going to die of starvation or dehydration. Maybe even a disease if he'd picked one up from somewhere. Walkers weren't as big of a problem as Eddie new how to sufficiently kill them, but walkers in ways, are smart. They could jump you at any moment. It didn't help that he had no good weapons beside the one unused bullet in his pistol.

Maybe that bullet would be for himself when_ he_ got bitten, but Eddie didn't want to think like that...

He was going to find a place, he was going to find food and water. And he was going to keep on trying to find Wyatt...

He had too.

Nick or no Nick.


End file.
